Unexpected Guest
by Mirrored Illusions
Summary: Buffy doesn't go to Heaven after she jumps off of Glory's Tower, instead, she lands at Hogwarts.
1. Introductions

Written for Twisting the Hellmouth's 2018 August Fic-A-Day, Day 16.

Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss and the Potterverse belongs to JKR.

One moment Buffy was falling head first after having jumped off Glory's Tower to save Dawn and the world, and then she passed through the interdimensional portal. The next thing she knew she wasn't in Sunnydale anymore but instead inside a large room full of teenagers, her body had also somehow righted itself and she was now falling feet first. A few seconds later she landed gently if a little unsteadily in front of what she absently noted had to be a dining hall of a boarding school. In front of her were several hundred students and when she turned and looked over her shoulder she saw some kind of podium with what she assumed were the faculty, despite the old-fashioned robes they were all wearing.

The teachers, if that's what they were, were dressed in robes of different colors while the students were all in completely black robes. The really old looking man in the throne-like chair in the middle was wearing a robe in an unfortunate and eye-watering combination of pink and orange with yellow stars and blue clouds. Really, there were fashion disasters and then there was this guy. Maybe he'd lost a bet?

"Um, hi?" she tried and smiled towards the man she assumed was in charge of the school or whatever this was. She felt a little self-conscious as everyone around her seemed to be wearing cloaks or dresses and here she was wearing pants and looking really out of place. A stray thought likened the situation to the time Anya had shown up to a Halloween party wearing a bunny costume because Xander had told her to pick a costume that scared her.

The old man rose from his chair and in the same movement revealed his long white beard was long enough to tuck into his belt. "Hello, my dear. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of this school. Who might you be and how did you get here?"

Buffy blinked. Either she was somewhere in Britain or there was a... Wait, he'd said 'headmaster' not 'principal'. She really, probably was in Britain. "Buffy Summers and I'm not really sure." The portal was supposed to lead to other dimensions and Glory's home hell dimension in particular. It wasn't supposed to lead to Britain.

"You're American! How wonderful!" The old man was a little too cheerful about that, but Buffy could feel a vague sense of needing to pass out. She was pretty certain only the saturated magic of this building was keeping her conscious and upright at this point. But while this Dumblebore fellow was getting excited a middle-aged woman in an ugly pink cardigan began clearing her throat, loudly, and it took Buffy a few seconds to realize she had gotten up as well.

"I am Delores Jane Umbridge, Under Secretary to the British Ministry of Magic. You are to tell me, right now, how you got here and how you managed to get through all of the wards surrounding Hogwarts!" An unbidden thought of toads, and Willow's fear of them, popped into her head before the woman's words suddenly penetrated her increasingly foggy mind.

"I jumped through a portal, but it wasn't supposed to bring me to the other side of the planet. I really don't know how or why it brought me here." She thought about it for a moment and then added, "This school is called *Hogwarts* and there's a Ministry for Magic?"

The toad-like woman, Umbridge, somehow managed to look down her nose at Buffy as if she'd suddenly turned into something disgusting. Then she changed her tone of voice to a childish and sickeningly sweet one, "You're a muggle, so you must be terribly afraid right now suddenly finding out magic is real."

Buffy managed to squeeze in a reply while the unpleasant woman was inhaling to continue with her no-doubt insulting speech. "I know magic is real, I've known about it for years, but what's a muggle and why do you use the word as an insult?"

Bumbledore chose to answer the question rather than allow his fellow teacher to reply and said, "A muggle is a person who does not have any magic nor do they have any relatives with magic. There are unfortunately quite a few members of our community who believe those people are worth less than those who have magic." He gave her a kind smile while Umbridge glowered beside him.

"That's both rude and racist," Buffy replied as she began seeing dark spots in her peripheral view. Behind her, the students began whispering, some of them in shock at her apparent nerve and others in agreement. But she was having a hard enough time focusing on the people right in front of her, so, for the time being, she chose to ignore the kids and pay attention to the older generation.

"Are you feeling well, Miss Summers? You look rather pale and unsteady." No, I'm definitely not okay, Buffy thought to herself. Aloud, she said,

"Not really, I was in a fight before I jumped and I think the portal did something to me it wasn't supposed to do." She swayed and only her Slayer reflexes stopped her from an ungraceful fall to the stone floor. Either her words or her lack of balance caused several of the people on the platform to rise and move around the table to get closer to her. She wasn't certain how she felt about that, but as the dark spots became larger and the dizziness became worse she found she didn't really care.

A moment later everything went dark and quiet.

In the Great Hall, several people ran forward in an attempt to catch the strange woman but none of them managed to reach her in time. In the sea of people, one older woman was let through and she raised her wand and levitated their unexpected guest. Ignoring the ministry toad she walked from the Great Hall and all the way to the hospital wing where she lowered the young woman to a bed.


	2. Late Night Conversation

Written for the 2018 August FaD, Day 17.

Buffy was fading in and out of consciousness and as she did she heard voices around her, talking in low tones. After a number of times, she managed to hear snippets of the conversations, but they made little sense to her in her current foggy state.

"It's impossible, no one can shield against..." and the unfamiliar voice of an older woman faded out.

Later on, Bumblebore's voice drifted toward her, "quite remarkable! And your scans can't tell you..." and then everything went black again.

Other people's words came and went, as did the two earlier ones. At one point she was woken by a female voice she was reasonably certain was the toads, judging by the fake girly tone and the arrogance. Much later, her mind had become clearer and she managed to stay awake for longer periods of time without falling asleep again. she'd been dozing when her enhanced hearing picked up two sets of footsteps coming towards the door of the room she was in, which was presumably either a hospital or the school's nurse's station.

"Shh," a teenage girl whispered as a door closed, presumably behind them, and was almost immediately followed by a teenage boy apologizing. Careful footsteps followed and moved closer to her bed. The entire room had that easily recognizable hospital smell those places always seemed to have, but at the same time it reminded her of Tara's potions.

Buffy opened her eyes to slits and was surprised to see there was no one in the room with her, except she could still hear both sets of footsteps moving toward her. She could also hear them breathing in the quiet room. Yes, all the lights were off and the only thing giving light was the moon shining through the uncovered windows across from her bed, but she was a Slayer and Slayers had excellent night vision. They also had excellent hearing, and right now those two senses were in conflict.

While she'd been exercising her supernatural senses, the teenagers had managed to get right up to her bed and Buffy could feel them staring at her. Her lids were barely open and as the two of them presumably had a normal vision they were unable to notice the difference.

The teenage girl spoke again in a very low whisper, "She doesn't look dangerous and she seems even smaller lying there in bed than she did standing in the Great Hall."

"Umbridge said she's probably a spy from the American Ministry of Magic and has contacted Fudge." The boy said, before adding after presumably getting a look from his friend. Or maybe his girlfriend? "I overheard Malfoy bragging to Parkinson about it."

"Malfoy will say anything to get people to believe he knows something they don't."

"I wonder what's got Dumbledore and the other professors whispering about her. They appeared to be confused and worried."

Rather than keep laying there and listening to their guesses Buffy decided to get some answers of her own and spoke up. "Show yourselves. It isn't fair you can see me but I can't see you."

Beside the bed, the two teenagers managed to startle but not make much noise while doing it. "Bloody hell!" the boy said softly, but right after she heard soft rustling and a blanket, or maybe it was a cloak, slid off and a black haired teenage boy with bright green eyes behind round glasses came into view. Right next to him stood a girl with brown bushy hair and cognac colored eyes.

"Um, hello," the girl said politely. "I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter. We're fifth-year students here at Hogwarts.

"Buffy Summers," Buffy replied. When someone introduced themselves you were supposed to give your name, even if the people in question already knew it. "How long was I out?"

"A little over a day." The boy, Harry Potter, replied. "Are you a spy?" He added, seemingly because he couldn't help himself.

Buffy's lips twitched as his friend elbowed him in the side. "No. I really don't know how or why I ended up here." She carefully sat up a little as her entire body kind of ached. "Where exactly is 'here'?"

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, specifically the hospital wing." Buffy just looked at the bushy-haired brunette and she kept talking. "We're in the Scottish Highlands, far away from the non-magical population."

"Oh," she replied, "but there are cars or a bus or something that can get me to an airport, right?" The looks on their faces were not promising at all.

"Sorry, miss." The boy answered, "There are no cars or busses here. There's no electricity, so no telephones either." Buffy just stared at him for a minute before she replied to the easiest part of his response.

"It's 'Buffy', not 'miss'. And what do you mean there's no electricity? Is the power out?"

"No," Hermione replied. "The magical world doesn't use electricity, most of them can't even pronounce the word correctly, and it's unlikely they know what it's used for." Buffy just stared incomprehensively at the girl.

"The magical world has deliberately segregated itself from the rest of the world and minimizes all contact with the outside world. Mostly only those with non-magical families or relatives venture outside the magical enclaves. We, they, user magic for almost everything. If you can't wave a wand to do what you wish, then it isn't worth doing to most."

That was just... Buffy didn't have words for it. How could anyone live like that? What if their wand got broken? They'd be helpless until they got a new one. Then another thought occurred to her, "Do you need a wand to perform magic?"

Both of them blinked at the question, but the boy answered first. "Of course. Only really powerful witches and wizards, like Dumbledore, can do wandless magic."

The girl added, "Even then it's mostly for show and not very useful. Why do you ask?"

Their answer added credence to this being another dimension, but it was possible it was simply another type of magic. Tara had mentioned a family in San Francisco who had magic similar to hers, but different. There were only three very powerful sisters now, who fought demons and warlocks.

"I have a couple of friends who are witches, but they do all of their magic without a wand." She was about to say something else when she heard footsteps coming from the adjoining room. "You better go if you don't want to get caught."

They looked confused for a moment, then Harry threw the cloak over them again and she heard Hermione say something in Latin and suddenly she couldn't hear them as well as she had before. It was like they had been partially muted.

She lay back down in her bed and closed her eyes as she heard the door on the other side of the room open and then close. The doctor or nurse entered the room, came over and fussed a little, and then she left. The conversation had tired Buffy and soon after she was asleep once more.


	3. Early Morning

Written for the 2018 August FaD, Day 18.

The next time Buffy opened her eyes the sunrise had begun and she was alone in the hospital wing again. After listening carefully for a few minutes she deemed herself to be alone except for another person who was unconscious on another bed. There was a privacy curtain around his bed so he was blocked from her curious gaze.

As she'd been checking on her surroundings she had also been doing a personal examination of herself and came to the conclusion that whatever had caused the dizziness, aches, and random bouts of unconsciousness had been healed during the last day and a half. Or, at least, she thought it had been a day and a half. She would need to ask someone to be certain and make sure she hadn't lost another day.

The examination had also revealed someone had removed her clothes and put her in an old-fashioned hospital gown, much to both her amusement and annoyance. The thing was frilly and kind of stiff and very much not from this century. When she swung her feet down to the floor she realized she was barefoot. When someone came around to check on her or the other patient, she needed to ask to get her own clothes back, because she was so not wearing clothes that went out of fashion centuries ago.

Buffy had taken a walk over to the window and was looking out towards a dark lake when the sound of a woman's footsteps came from the adjoining room. Right before, the sound of a door opening and closing softly had been followed by low, inaudible mumbling. Somehow Buffy was certain the annoyed mumbling was aimed at her, and specifically because she was out of bed, but it didn't make her go back. Her injuries or whatever it had been had finished healing and there was no harm done. Laying in bed wouldn't help.

"Miss Summers!" The woman's voice was pitched low but she had done nothing to hide her disapproval of Buffy's actions. "Why are you out of bed?"

"I'm fine now and I'm wide awake." She smiled at the other woman, "Is there an exercise room or something I can use? All that time in bed has made me really restless."

That was clearly the wrong thing to say because what followed was a very stern talking to which ended with Buffy back in her hospital bed and pouting. Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey, as she'd introduced herself, went back to her office to 'floo', whatever that was, the headmaster and inform him of her patient's apparent improved condition.

No amount of convincing arguments could sway the magical nurse, so Buffy decided to be a good girl and followed the direct order. Getting back under the covers made her feel ridiculous, but she snuggled back into them and began waiting for the old bearded Merlin wannabe. To her surprise, Pomfrey didn't pick up a phone or walk to the man's office or bedroom, instead, she said 'incendio' and suddenly she heard the sound of crackling fire from the other room. Then she threw something into the flames and said 'Dumbledore's office' and right after there was the sound of footsteps, and suddenly there was nothing.

Five minutes passed where Buffy sat confused in her very white hospital bed and then she heard the flames roar up again followed by first Pomfrey's steps and then Bumbledore's. Could these people travel through flames or maybe fireplaces? If they could, it was kinda of the awesome.

After they had gotten the formal greetings out of the way, the old man dismissed the school nurse and she disappeared behind her office door with a terse expression on her face and a warning not to stay long.

Bumblebore smiled at her and sat down on the bed opposite hers. She decided she wanted answers of her own, and since she hadn't been able to ask Pomfrey she asked the head of this strange school. "Do you know what happened to my clothes? This antiquated thing is really uncomfortable." Then she suddenly realized what she'd said and a light blush covered her cheeks. "Um, no offense, Mr. Bumblebore."

His lips twitched a little behind his long beard before he replied, "I'm afraid not, Miss Summers. However, I will inquire with Madam Pomfrey after we've spoken. And my name is Dumbledore, not Bumblebore."

"Sorry," Buffy apologized, "I'm really bad with names."

"It's quite all right, my dear. You've had an eventful few days." Then he changed tactics. "Perhaps you could tell me what happened before you arrived in the Great Hall in the middle of dinner?" He looked her directly in the eyes as he spoke and she felt something brush at the edges of her mind. Kind of like something Tara had tried once, but this wasn't as gently or friendly.

The change of topic, though expected, threw her a little. "It's, um... Complicated." These people were magical, but she was still supposed to be secret identity girl. Traveling across the world or to a (hell) dimension didn't change that.

Dumbledore changed his smile to a grandfatherly one and she felt something was off. The brush against her mind had come back as she spoke, more gentle this time but still insistent. What was he doing, or trying to do?

"I assure you, Miss Summers, I have experienced a great many things in my life and I am quite sure you can make me understand what happened. Perhaps I might even be able to send you home if you explain how the portal was made."

In her mind, Buffy heard herself tell her sister, 'It's Summers blood. It's just like mine', and she gave the old man a sad smile as Dawn's terrified face flashed before her eyes the way she'd looked when Buffy told her she, Buffy, had to jump to save the world. "You can't recreate it. It isn't possible, not anymore. And even if you were capable I wouldn't allow you to do it."

He frowned at her certainty, but there was no way for him to know about the Key and Glory tearing down the walls between all the dimensions just so she could go home. As the principal of this school, he needed to be knowledgeable, but this was extremely rare historical information and the secrecy had been very closely maintained by the monks. Sharing it wouldn't help, neither would opening the portal since she had no guarantee it would bring her back to Sunnydale and her sister.

"You won't allow me?" His voice had lost some of its friendly tones.

"Some things are not meant to be shared, especially with people I've only just met." Keeping secrets was not her strong point, but this was something she was unwilling to share with anyone. Across from her, Dumbledore nodded sagely, but there were still traces of the frown from earlier. As if he'd expected something to happen but it didn't.

In an attempt to move the conversation forward, she asked. "Could you tell me something about this school? What do you teach here? I didn't know magical schools were real." For some reason, he chose to go along with her distraction and spent the next ten minutes explaining the Four Houses, the core subjects the school taught, and a few basics about the community in general. He was almost done explaining wands and how they worked when suddenly the door to the infirmary slammed open making both of them startle. When they turned they saw the toad-looking woman and a pompous looking man striding in like they owned the place.

Dumbledore got up as soon as he saw them and if Buffy had been wearing proper clothes she would've done the same. Umbridge looked much too smug for Buffy's comfort and the strange man, who was followed closely by a couple of men in blue robes, was carrying what looked like some kind of official paperwork.

This did not look good. At all. Shoot.


	4. Confrontation

Written for the 2018 August FaD, Day 19.

The pompous man puffed himself up, making himself look pretty ridiculous in his expensive robes, and then introduced himself in such a way that made it quite apparent he thought much too highly of himself and his position. A little modesty went a long way. In her peripheral view, she saw Madam Pomfrey reenter the room looking upset at the new people disturbing her territory but a look from the headmaster made her keep her opinion to herself. At least for the moment.

"I am Cornelius Fudge, the British Minister of Magic." The arrogant way he spoke and the way he didn't even attempt to shake her hand told her everything she needed to know about him; useless and with someone else telling him what to think. It strongly reminded her of the politicians in Sunnydale under Mayor Wilkins III. So who was the Richard Wilkins of Britain's magical world, or was there more than one?

"It is against magical law to allow muggles on land owned by or occupied by witches and wizards unless there are special circumstances. The law specifically denies muggles access to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry under any and all circumstances. As such you are under arrest for breaking into a magically owned property."

Buffy blinked innocent hazel green eyes at the wizard. "A muggle is someone without magical abilities of any kind, correct?"

The man responded impatiently in the affirmative, so she continued, "Then I'm not a muggle and that law doesn't apply to me."

Minister Fudge blustered, but the Toad began speaking in the same insulting, simpering, and very fake girly voice as she'd done when Buffy had first arrived. "Now, little girl, I know you believe you can do magic but muggles are quite simply incapable of such magnificent feats. They, like you, are defect. It is a condition that simply cannot be remedied."

Buffy quickly interrupted before Sauron managed to say anything, "First of all, I'm not a little girl. Propriety states that once you know someone's name you are to use it, preceded by either Miss, Mrs, or Mr. So, the proper way for you and everyone else here is to address me as Miss Summers unless I give you permission to call me something else." It was best to make this woman understand as quickly as possible that she could not walk all over her as she pleased.

"Second, insulting my intelligence while you yourself act as if you're mentally challenged will not make me respect you or your ridiculous statements in any way. It does make me wonder why someone put a person with an intellectual disability in a position of power, particularly in government and in a school. It doesn't give me high hopes for the rest of your hidden community if you are a reflection of them. And third, people without magic are not 'defect'." That part of Umbridge's little speech had gotten Buffy's hackles up, but she still tried to be polite if for no other reason than to be the better person.

"People develop differently, it's part of the human evolution. It's what makes us good at different things so together we can change and improve both ourselves and society as a whole." ...and now she sounded like she was reciting one of her own teachers. Some of the school's teachers, um, professors, according to Bumblebore. No, wait, she thought to herself, his name is Dumbledore, not Bumblebore. Whatever, some of the professors were nodding along, but the two Ministry workers were looking offended and angry.

"Can you tell me, in all honesty, that all magical children are born from magical parents?" That made both of them look shifty and mildly uncomfortable. "Exactly. I bet there are children at this school who have no magical relatives at all, and children who have both magical and non-magical family." Beside her, Dumbledore beamed. And the pink-haired woman behind and to the side of the Minister winked at her in amusement.

Then she had a thought, "If someone lined up a bunch of children dressed in identical clothes and asked you to tell them which child has an all-magical ancestry, which child has mixed ancestry, which child is magical but has no magical ancestry, and which child has no magic and no magical ancestry - would you be able to correctly tell which child has which family background?"

It was unlikely, magic was not a physical feature you could see just by watching someone, but the witch's arrogance and total conviction in her own belief system would probably force her to lie and soon the Slayer was proven right. "Of course, pureblood witches and wizards are always easily separated from all the other riff-raff we have to contend with." There had to have been blackmail involved in her appointment as a professor because that right there? Did not make her teacher material, at all.

"So, what kind of 'riff-raff' are you? I can't imagine these supposedly perfect people would include you among themselves, considering your mental deficits and bad manners in general."

Dumbledore actually covered his lower face with his hand trying to hide his laughter, and behind the Ministry workers, their bodyguards did the same thing. The strict looking witch who had escorted them to the hospital wing and the school nurse both turned away trying to hide their own laughter. Clearly, the Undersecretary was not popular among any of them. Imagine that.

Buffy smiled politely and widened her eyes slightly, making certain Umbridge understood she was waiting for an answer. Instead of giving her a reply to the semi-genuine question, she started yelling while waving her hand dramatically in Buffy's direction. "Detention!" Then she glared when Buffy actually laughed and did absolutely nothing to hide it.

"I'm not a student at this school, Miss Umbridge. You can't give me to detention."

"AURORS! ARREST THAT INFURIATING WOMAN!" Buffy resisted the urge to put her hands over her ears, because oww! The enhanced hearing was great while hunting demons and the undead, or just generally sneaking around, but it was not so great when people had the bad manners to start screeching right beside her.

"Geez woman, there's no need to yell. We're all less than ten feet away from you." It was Buffy's turn to glare, "Also, not helping in disproving your mental state."

Neither of the bodyguards or Aurors as she'd called them had moved towards Buffy or given any signs they intended to arrest her, so that was good. It was most likely due to Sauron giving them some kind of hand signal, rather than anything she herself had said or done, but she appreciated it none the less. It did, however, mean Umbridge turned her anger on them instead. Neither of them bent to her demands, instead, they stood up straighter and just ignored her.

While Umbridge and Fudge argued with the Aurors, Buffy switched her attention to the doors at the end of the room where a group of teenagers had gathered during the confrontation. In the front of the group was her two visitors from last night, and on the other side of the pair was a tall, gangly redheaded boy with a lot of freckles. She smiled at Hermione and Harry, and they returned the friendly gesture. Behind them were a pudgy blonde boy and a redheaded girl who looked a lot like the redheaded boy.

The faculty members didn't seem to have noticed them and neither had any of the Ministry people, so Buffy decided to pretend they weren't there and just allowed them to no-so-secretly eavesdrop on the adults. Passive aggression was a wonderful thing sometimes, and it would serve both Umbridge and Fudge well to have their dirty linen spread around the school to undermine their authority.


	5. Wand or Kindle?

Written for the 2018 August FaD, Day 22.

After a while, Buffy raised her voice loud enough to be heard over the screeching from Umbridge. "ENOUGH!" The Toad's mouth closed more at the surprise that someone would interrupt her than a willingness to follow the command. "This is ridiculous. Someone get my clothes and we can go somewhere to talk about this that isn't the hospital wing." The latter sentence was aimed more at the school nurse than anyone else, as she was the one most likely to know to what happened to her outfit.

Madam Pomfrey left the room immediately, presumably to get the clothes so they would all leave her domain. Buffy chose not to be offended, the offensive professor/undersecretary was making quite the spectacle out of herself and the hospital wing was meant to be a quiet place. The Minister appeared to be lost as there were no one there to tell him how to act or which opinions he was supposed to have, or maybe he'd realized the smartest thing to do at this point was to keep his trap shut.

The nurse came back with her clothes before anyone had figured out what to say. A wave of her wand and there was a privacy curtain around her bed so she could dress without an audience. The expression on the woman's face clearly said she disapproved of her patient's choice of apparel, but wisely chose to keep any remarks to herself. Which was appreciated.

White panties, a white brassiere, and her new cute socks with grey kittens on them. Grey pants, blue/grey tank top, and then she put on her black shoes. The last item she put on was the white sweater and then she was good to go. A quick walk around the curtain and she was in full view of both groups again, all of whom had strangely remained entirely silent while she was changing. Weird.

Nurse Pomfrey made the privacy curtain disappear with her wand and apparently that was Mr. Dumbledore cue to remember he was in charge of this particular circus. He led them out of the hospital wind and down a number of staircases before they ended up in front of a particularly ugly gargoyle. That was fine with Buffy, for now.

Harry, Hermione, and their friends seemed to have understood Buffy, the professors, and the Ministry personnel were going to leave so they had left for parts unknown while she'd been behind the curtain. It was a perceptive move on their part, and if they were smart they would tell their fellow students about what they'd overheard. It would undermine both Umbridge and Fudge's authority. Particularly if they told their parents as well.

Dumbledore gave the gargoyle a password in his normal speaking voice, which pretty much made the entire thing moot. Hadn't anyone told him how passwords worked? They were supposed to be secret and not something you revealed to anyone within hearing range. The ugly statue moved aside and revealed a spiral staircase which moved in a way similar to an escalator, the lack of logic made her head hurt a little since Hermione had told her there was no electricity in this building.

It turned out they had arrived at Dumbledore's office and he went straight for the comfy looking chair behind the large mahogany desk on the other side of the room. He waved his wand and conjured six chairs. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, Minister Fudge, Miss Umbridge, and Buffy took a chair each, but the pink-haired Auror and her nameless partner declined the offer and remained standing by the door at something that reminded her of parade rest. Another wave of Dumbledore's wand and both chairs vanished.

Buffy studied the office, as far as a professional office went it was a mess. Most of the wall space was taken up by shelves filled to the brim with books and the rest were occupied with paintings in all sizes. The occupants' in the paintings were all moving and some of them had even greeted the headmaster and the deputy headmistress. When the two teenagers had said everything was magical here they had clearly meant *everything*.

Her evaluation of the room was interrupted by the man she had privately dubbed 'Sauron' in her own head. As far as appearances went he was a good guy, but her instincts told her to be very careful around him. She blamed the Sauron part on Willow who was adorably obsessed with the first movie in a new Lord of the Rings trilogy.

"Miss Summers, our school nurse has been unable to perform any medical scans on you or to even give you any potions to aid in your recovery. Could you explain to us how this is possible?"

Huh. So that's what that little snippet had been about. The school nurse had been unable to do a magical examination of her physical condition while she had been unconscious. "I don't know."

"How can you not know, Miss Summers? You implied earlier you are a witch and now you don't know?" It seemed the Minister had found his voice again.

"I'm not a witch, Mr. Fudge." He glared and she continued, "I said I'm magical, not that I'm a witch. No one had ever done a magical examination of me before, at least not to my knowledge, so I don't know why it doesn't work." Somehow it didn't seem prudent to explain to these people how non-magical examination worked.

"Then explain how professor Snape became hysterical and had to be put in a magical coma after he attempted to examine you!" Umbridge's question was rude, but Buffy couldn't help but look confused.

"Who is professor Snape and what did he try to do?"

Dumbledore took over the explanation, "Professor Snape attempted to use a rare magical skill called Legilimancy in an attempt to learn how to help you." Buffy frowned, her Latin wasn't great but the wizard's words seemed sketchy and carefully chosen.

"'Mens' meaning 'mind' and 'legili' or 'legere', meaning 'to read'. Or it's secondary meaning 'to collect' or 'to choose'. Are you saying he attempted to mind rape me?" She glared, both because of the unknown man's actions and what she suspected Dumbledore had attempted to do before Umbridge and Fudge arrived. Clearly, he'd been much more careful and not as invasive since he wasn't comatose in the hospital wing, but it didn't excuse his actions in any way. "Is that what *you* attempted to do before I distracted you?"

The old wizard looked first shocked, then uncomfortable, before he returned his face to his grandfatherly smile again. It seemed that was his 'cop face' or 'blank face, the expression he used when he tried to hide his feelings.

"Now, Miss Summers, we were merely trying to help you. None of us were able to scan you so we could help you recover from your injuries and entering your mind to find the cause was the only solution we could think of that might've helped."

The discussion quickly deteriorated from there and ended with Umbridge attempting to get the Aurors to arrest both Buffy and Dumbledore. They still refused, an action which caused her to try and curse both of them. Or it might've been something else, but as soon as the wand pointed in the Slayer's direction she moved and two seconds later she was holding an unusually short wand in one hand and three more wands in her right hand.

Buffy transferred all of them to her right hand and then held them up, "You are all going to sit down and you're going to behave like adults and not spoiled children. If you don't, then these will go from being magical wands to becoming kindle."

Amazingly her threat worked for a little while.


	6. Legalese

Written for the 2018 August FaD, Day 24.

"Now someone explain to me how this legilimency works and if there are any laws regulating the use in any way." Buffy was annoyed, getting hexed by the arrogant pink toad was not on her to-do list for today or any other day.

"Now, Buffy, this is not the problem. We were merely attempting to ensure your health and safety." The old man tried to distract her with a gentle tone and what was clearly meant to be a tone of voice that said 'I'm older and wiser than you, so don't contradict me'.

She glared, "As I told everyone in the hospital wing, you are to call me Miss Summers under all circumstances unless I give you permission to call me something else." In most cases, she wouldn't have cared, but she had the feeling that giving ground to this man would be a very bad choice. People like him would start by crossing the small lines and then move his way up to the bigger ones.

"Then may I please have your permission to use your given name, Miss Summers?" The overly polite wording made her want to act like her most belligerent teenage self, but instead, she gave an equally polite refusal.

"No, Mr. Dumbledore, you may not. There is no reason for us to be on a first name basis at this point, should the situation change then I will inform you of such." Those two sentences were about as far away from her normal speech pattern as she could get without messing it up. The wizard and some of the other people and portraits in the room looked shocked and offended at her reply, but she chose to ignore it in lieu of getting an answer to her original question.

"So, legilimency?" She looked from Dumbledore to Umbridge and then to McGonagall and even Fudge. A glance at the two Aurors by the door, who were both holding their wand but pointing them at the floor, showed they had no intention of answering. Dolores Umbridge seemed to have an inner debate with herself if she should defend Buffy or the two professors. McGonagall looked stern and disapproving, mostly in her boss' direction. Fudge had the same dilemma as his Undersecretary, and Dumbledore just gave her a grandfatherly smile clearly believing his earlier reply was all the answer she needed.

"There are five government employees here, including the British Minister for Magic and the Chief Warlock. As I understand it, the Chief Warlock oversees court procedures so he has to be well versed in matters of justice and law. So, Chief Warlock Dumbledore, what does the law say about the use of legilimency? When is it legal to use it and when is it not?"

The man in question had been looking more and more uncomfortable the more she spoke, and when she finished he reluctantly answered her. "It is illegal to enter anyone's mind without their knowledge and explicit permission unless it has been ordered by the Wizengamot or someone's life may be dependant on knowledge hidden in their or someone else's mind and there is no other solution. Being caught performing Legilimency outside of these restrictions are cause for up to 10 years in Azkaban."

Buffy looked thoughtfully at him, then asked. "So I could legally pursue this and get both you and Snipe thrown in prison?" The peanut gallery was suspiciously quiet during the exchange, but she supposed they wanted anything to use against the others.

"Yes, Miss Summers." She hmm'd and in her peripheral view, both Umbridge and Fudge were looking increasingly gleeful.

"Could I also charge Miss Umbridge with attempting to attack me magically, particularly since she knows I don't have a wand to defend myself with?" The gleeful looks instantly vanished.

Dumbledore frowned a little but seemed compelled to answer, "There appear to be some muddy waters. It is illegal to attack magical people without due course and it's illegal to attack muggles using any kind of magic, but your status is unknown at this point. As such an attempt to file charges may become difficult."

That was interesting but not really useful. She let it go and took a closer look at the wands instead. Umbridge's wand really was short compared to the other three. Without stopping to consider the ramifications, she commented, "This looks like a child's training wand or something. Kind of like the magical version of caster wheels on a child's first bicycle."

Over by the door, the pink-haired Auror turned an unnatural shade of firetruck red, starting with her cheeks and working it's way all the way out to the roots of her hair. Buffy blinked. If the woman hadn't obviously been trying to keep her laughter in she would've been really worried. The big, black Auror had cast the same spell as Hermione had done right before the two left the hospital wing and all sounds they made became partially muted. Dumbledore's beard and mustache twitched while his eyes twinkled merrily. Only the stern-looking McGonagall managed to look mostly disapproving, but her eyes gave away her amusement for a few moments.

Buffy looked up and made eye contact with the wands owner, "Is this about your mental issues, you're only allowed a training wand because of it?" Maybe that was pushing the invisible line a little too far because the witch got up and began yelling profanities at the top of her lungs.

A wave of McGonagall's wand and Umbridge was magically muted. That was a really useful spell, something that would've come in handy when the Big Bads did their monologuing during Apocalypse Season. Maybe Willow could find a Wiccan version of it? If she ever got home, of course.

Right after muting her fellow professor, McGonagall aimed her wand at the fireplace and said "The Minister of Magic's Office" and it burst into green flames. Another flick of her wand and the witch was standing right in front of it and was forced to step into the flames or fall down. A pointed, "You'd better follow her, Minister Fudge" had the man reluctantly following.

Buffy was just kind of staring at that point and didn't snap out of it until the deputy headmistress addressed her directly. "Miss Summers, please throw their wands into the flames. They will need them and you will be prosecuted and quite likely sent through the Veil of Death if you keep them."

Most of that went over her head, but the main point didn't and she threw the sticks into the fire.

Now what?


	7. Disbelief

Written for Twisting the Hellmouth's 2018 August Fic-A-Day, Day 28.

Buffy held the remaining wand in her left hand as she stared at the green flames in the fireplace simply get lower and lower before going out entirely. It happened rather fast.

"Um... What just happened?"

Dumbledore continued to just smile, but as McGonagall was about to answer the pink-haired Auror replied. "It's called Floo travel. Think wormholes in sci-fi movies, just with magic and a fireplace."

Buffy nodded, that made a sort of sense. The two elder people in the room looked confused at the explanation but clearly didn't care enough to follow up on it. Instead, the Deputy Headmistress took over the interrogation.

"Perhaps you could explain the circumstances surrounding your arrival to our school, Miss Summers. Your presence here is rather baffling, particularly as neither our Medi-Witch or anyone else has been able to use magic to give you a basic health examination. You passed out from some kind of trauma but now you appear to be quite healthy despite being in and out of consciousness for the last day and a half." The middle-aged woman gave her a stern look as she spoke.

How much could she tell these people? One of them had already attempted to mind-rape her several times and kept pretending he hadn't done anything wrong despite his own explanation of the magical laws. The silence stretched out and after a short time, she settled for a partial truth.

"It's Apocalypse Season and this year's Big Bad did something I just couldn't allow to play out and to stop it I jumped into the portal she had made. For some strange reason, it transported me here instead of where she intended to go, or to just drop me on the ground. So now I'm at a magical school in Scotland instead of my not-so-quaint small town in America, and I really need to get back there. Except I don't think it's possible to get back there."

If she was right and she had ended up in another dimension then she had a major problem unless Willow and the others found a way to bring her back without using Dawn. If they used her sister she would never forgive them, not ever. But even if they could find a way, how would they know which dimension she was in? There were hundreds, thousands, if not more of them. And that didn't even include the demonic ones.

"I'm sorry, Miss Summers, but what is 'Apocalypse Season'?"

"Miss Summers?" The headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress asked their questions nearly simultaneously, which caused everyone else to look at them with mild amusement.

Buffy grimaced slightly. "It's what it sounds like, the yearly almost apocalypse when some enterprising big bad attempts to destroy the world, or enslave it, or some other really horrible thing none of us wants to happen. It usually has some build-up where the minions run around and we have to find the clues leading to the big bad so we can stop them before it's too late. And when the world saveage is done we party. Or possibly sleep and then party."

All four of the occupants of the room, plus the portraits on the walls, stared at her in growing horror. Even Albus Dumbledore had lost his grandfatherly smile and posture and instead leaned forward to stare at her in shock.

The big black man by the door was the first to find his voice, "This happens every year in America?"

"Yes. Actually, I think a variety of apocalyptic events happen not just in my own hometown but in other areas of the world as well. I know there are almost-apocalypses several places in America at the same time of year, and there are places in the world where these events are prone to happen every year as well." Los Angeles had its own apocalypse which Angel and his people were responsible for now. Before that, she had thwarted her own almost end-of-the-world there. There was a trio of sisters in San Fransisco who had their own yearly battle, and so on. Evil didn't concentrate on one specific area even if they preferred a certain time of year for the big event.

Maybe things were different here, or maybe these people just didn't know about what happened anywhere else in the world. Hermione had said this community was isolated and that they knew very little of the so-called 'muggle world' and obviously that's where most of this took place. Even if the general public had no idea their entire world had almost gone down the drain.

"Surely you're exaggerating. There are not that many bad people in the world who are out to destroy us all." The grandfatherly tone was back with a vengeance and with it was an expression that clearly said 'you must be confused, little girl'. Buffy glared.

"Do you know how many people there are in the world? Besides, I didn't say all of the Big Bads were people. Most of them are some kind of demons who just want to destroy everything or rule over everything." She could sort-of understand those who wanted to rule everything, but why destroy everything? It didn't gain them anything and unless all life or unlife was gone then something would return and eventually they would be back where they started. Kinda.

"There are very few demons in the world, Miss Summers. And all of them are either imprisoned or rendered harmless. There is nothing to worry about. Clearly, you have not recovered as completely from your injuries as you believed. Perhaps you should return to the hospital wing and allow Madam Pomfrey to examine you properly."

"I'm fine, Mr. Dumbledore. My health is not the issue here, and you ignored my question. Do you know how many people there are in the world?"

It was apparent the wizard wasn't used to having anyone question him as his mask slipped a little. "No, I don't know how many people there are. 8-9 million, perhaps?" Buffy laughed, she couldn't help it. The pink-haired witch looked disappointed over by the door. While the other two didn't seem to understand what was going on.

"You think the world-wide population consists of 8-9 million people?" She made no attempt to hide the incredulity in her voice, because what the heck? "There are more than seven million people just in London!" There was the off chance this dimension had much fewer people, but she doubted it. The three people whom she assumed had never bothered to learn about the world outside of the isolated magical community looked shocked.

Then she added the real bombshell that would make their world come crashing down, "There are almost 6,2 *billion* people on Earth. Can you guarantee none of them would want to destroy everything?"

No response. Not even the pink-haired Auror seemed to have been aware of the actual number, but she regained her balance fast. "Blimey! I didn't know it was that high. My dad said it was about 5 billion, maybe five and a half, but that was years ago." Like the mid- or late 80's, Buffy thought to herself.

Buffy's lips twitched, "Well, you see. When two people love each other very much..."

"Oi!" The witch exclaimed and then laughed. "Funny. We have little contact with the muggle world and the population numbers are not something we're concerned with. We're more worried about our own, they're at a low after the war with You-Know-Who."

"No, I don't know who. I thought this was a high school and not kindergarten, and that you were some kind of police. What kind of adult says that?"

The witch sighed, "My name is Tonks and this is Shacklebolt." The latter was said as she pointed to her fellow Auror." She took a deep breath and continued, "The wizard we call You-Know-Who is a dark lord or evil wizard if you're not familiar with that term. He calls himself Lord V-V-Voldemort." She shuddered and McGonagall flinched. "He spread terror throughout the wizarding world back in the 70's, but was finally temporarily defeated in '81."

She gave the old headmaster a questioning look and received a small nod in reply, "He was resurrected and given a new body about six months ago and has quietly been amassing supporters since then."

So their bad guy had devoted followers who had kept his body and spent who knew how long before finding a ritual to bring him back. She backtracked, wait a moment. "What year is it?"

Tonks gave her a confused look but replied none the less. "1995. It's December 18th." It was Buffy's turn to take a sharp intake of breath. In 1995 she had still been a Potential, India Cohen had still been the Slayer, and her parents had still been unhappily married in Los Angeles. Dawn had still been a big ball of green energy instead of her little sister. It meant not only was she most likely in another dimension but she had also gone back in time nearly six years.

"Are Umbridge and Fudge among his followers?" The question made Dumbledore beam, but he did give a negative response.

"Madam Umbridge shares many of his views, but to our knowledge, she has not joined the Death Eaters. One of Minister Fudge's chief advisers is quite unfortunately one of Voldemorts top lieutenants. Due to a major bribe 14 years ago he is a respected member of our society."

"And Umbridge fills his head with even more of this stupidity. Sounds like your entire government consists of corrupt criminals, including you." Maybe this was how things had been in Sunnydale behind the scenes before Mayor Wilkins ascension was stopped. Not including all the demonic minions, of course. Somehow she didn't think these magical people would allow that. Mind rapists and corrupt politicians, how wonderful.

Could she get her friends and the hell goddess back instead? Because she could physically fight and kill her and her very annoying minions, but these witches and wizards were human and off limits. Maybe she could slap them if the situation presented itself?

"Now, Miss Summers, it is not quite so bad. There are some good people working tirelessly at the Ministry, including Nymphadora and Kingsley here." He indicated the two Aurors on the other side of the room.

"Don't call me Nymphadora! My name is Tonks." The infuriating smile was back again.

"Now Nymphadora, you should be proud of your name. It's the name your parents gave you."

"Actually, she has clearly asked you to stop using it many times. It's something *you* need to respect, regardless of what her parents chose to call her. It isn't up to you, you are not her father or grandfather. It means you have no right to use her first name without permission. Just like you have no right to use mine." Dumbledore was getting on her last nerve. Meanwhile, Tonks gave her a thankful smile which Buffy returned.

She dropped the subject when the old wizard didn't reply and began twirling the remaining wand between her fingers. The motion clearly made him nervous. Ignoring him she gave McGonagall her attention instead. "Why would I be prosecuted for breaking someone's wand and what's the Veil of Death?"

The stern witch looked down her nose at Buffy, "Witches and wizards are quite dependant on their wand and as such destroying it carries a heavy sentence or a heavy fine for destruction of personal property. As you are not a witch the punishment will be much more severe."

McGonagall composed herself and continued, "The Veil of Death is a mystical Veil which causes a person who enters it to vanish forever. There is no return and all magical records will list them as deceased once they pass through it."

Wonderful, Buffy thought, they have a deadly blanket hidden somewhere and this witch is threatening me with it.

"The Veil is only for extreme cases, and while breaking someone's wand is bad it won't get you a death sentence. Six months and up to maybe three years in Azkaban is more likely, depending on whose wand it was." Okay, that was more believable. Clearly, Auror Tonks was the most sincere person in this office.

The talk/interrogation continued for another hour before Dumbledore dismissed them for lunch and they trooped down to the Great Hall. The big room was once again filled with chatting students who abruptly became silent when they discovered who had just walked in the door. The headmaster and the deputy headmistress went straight for the table on the raised platform, but only one of the Aurors followed. Tonks veered off to the left and sat down at the table where the students had yellow on the lining of their robes. Buffy had a moment of indecision but Tonks waved her over and made sure to make room for her on the bench.

The young Auror seemed to know some of the older students and immediately began chatting with them and asking questions. Shacklebolt went up on the platform and began a quiet conversation with Dumbledore. Buffy could talk to a bunch of teenagers. She had spoken easily with Harry and Hermione, and speaking of the duo they were not at this table.

She looked up and down the table on the far left side where the lining was green, and then at one table over where it was blue and bronze. No joy, so she gave the table on the far right a look and among the students wearing red, she discovered a head full of bushy brown hair and next to it was a boy with messy black hair. Across from them were four redheads. Huh, the redheads had doubled in number since she saw them last.

The next thing she knew Tonks was introducing her to the students she knew and she got dragged into several conversations at once, mostly concerning how she got there and if she knew what had happened to the toad. Evidently, Umbridge didn't have any fans among the students either.

Before they'd talked for long the headmaster made a few announcements, Buffy would be staying at the school at least for a few days and Umbridge had chosen to take an early Christmas break. The latter got a major applause from everyone except the table on the far left. But the better question was, why did Dumbledore assume he could order her to stay at the school? He hadn't asked her or even hinted at it. Yes, she was grateful for a place to stay and, of course, the food was also highly appreciated. She had arrived here without anything but the clothes on her back. Still, he was overstepping his boundaries again.

Nevertheless, she jumped in her seat when the dinner just appeared on the table causing everyone who saw her reaction to laugh. Some of them were more derisive than others, but most took it in good humor and the boy across from her even gave a short explanation. The food was great if not a little too greasy for her taste, and when she asked anyone where to find water a large glass just materialized next to her plate. This time the girl on the left made with the explanation. She just shook her head, it was an issue for another day. Instead, she just said "Thank you for the water", and hoped the House Elves, whatever they were, heard her.

Later she was assigned guest quarters not far from the Hufflepuff common room. It was large and comfortable, it even had its own guardian portrait which she was allowed to set her own password for. It was late and she would rather get some rest. A healing sleep would take care of the remaining aches from her abrupt travel.

Four hours later she was unexpectedly awoken by someone banging on her door. After walking to the door in her borrowed pajamas, Tonks had transfigured the nightgown McGonagall had given her, she was surprised to see Dumbledore looking like he had hurriedly gotten dressed in something a little less eye-catching than he'd worn a few hours ago.

"Can I help you?" Buffy asked grumpily. She didn't need much sleep normally, but this situation was anything but normal so her mood suffered the consequences.

"There has been an attack, if you would collect your clothes I will send you to another location. Someone there will explain the situation."

She blinked, "Huh?"

"Please, Miss Summers. Get your clothes." Rather than argue some more she did as he asked, but wasn't awake enough to get dressed. Instead, she just gathered everything in her arms and returned to the door. Dumbledore gave her a piece of paper and an old boot. Natural curiosity and a lack of sleep made her read it without thinking. The note said: 'The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place'.

"Huh?" She repeated. This made no sense at all.

Instead of answering, Dumbledore tapped his wand on the boot and suddenly Buffy felt as if someone had put a hook behind her navel and was dragging her through space. The feeling was uncomfortable and only her enhanced Slayer abilities caused her to land on her feet rather than her backside.

Waiting in the room where she arrived was a tallish man with black shoulder-length hair who introduced himself as Sirius Black and the owner of the house. He ushered her up to a bedroom with only a short explanation of the situation. Evidently, the red-headed children's father had been attacked and this warranted the change of scenery. The red-headed girl was asleep in her new bedroom, but she didn't particularly care. She dumped her clothes in a chair and went to sleep.

Just before sleep took her a thought came to her: where did Dumbledore get the second wand? She still had the one she took from him in the office.


	8. Author's Note

**...Author's Note...**

This story was written during the August Fic-a-Day and unfortunately I didn't manage to finish it. It abruptly ends at a point it really shouldn't and I apologize for that. However, I am in the process of re-writing it, and once I've completed that and written the new chapter I will post all of it as a new fic under another name.

My apologies for the inconvenience.


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